Background

This US-based company serves more than a million customers worldwide and has 10,000 service sales representatives (SSRs) out on the road delivering uniforms, maintaining and inspecting first aid and fire systems and providing other services.Armed with Windows CE–based devices, these mobile workers could scan barcodes, create invoices, and perform other tasks. However, the devices’ impact was limited by a small screen, limited ports and expandability, as well as the fact that they could not run Windows desktop applications. This meant SSRs had to return to their trucks or offices to access company systems and transmit the day’s transactions.

Solution

To make them more productive while also taking advantage of the up-sell opportunities afforded by their regular customer contact, they were kitted-out with the HP Elitepad 1000* tablet computer.Powered by Intel Core i5 processors and running full versions of Windows 8.1 Enterprise and Microsoft Office 365, these devices offered excellent continuity with the company’s existing systems. And, by replacing older handheld devices with Windows 8.1 tablets, the company saved US$300 per device – up to US$3 million in total.

Results

SSRs are now free of end-of-day batching requests, and they can create invoices while on-site with the customer. And, if they notice customers wearing competitors’ uniforms, they can immediately create a sales lead in the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) system. They have even developed an app that lets SSRs take a picture of the customer’s lobby and show them what it would look like outfitted with their company’s new products and uniforms.